The Twelve Olympians by Monsiau, circa late 18th century.

There was, however, a great deal of fluidity when it came to who was counted among their number in antiquity;^[2] other important gods are sometimes included by certain sources in the group of Twelve replacing some of the above Canonical 12. The first ancient reference of religious ceremonies for the 12 Olympians is found in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes. Around 400 BC Herodotus included in his Dodekatheon the following deities: Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Athena, Hermes, Apollo, Alpheus, Cronus, Rhea and the Charites.^[3] Wilamowitz agrees with Herodorus' version of the 12.^[4]

There were also numerous regional variations in ancient Greece. For instance, at Kos, Ares and Hephaestus are left behind, replaced by Heracles and Dionysus.^[5] Herodotus agrees with this and counts Heracles as one of the Twelve,^[6] while Lucian adds Asklepios to Heracles as a member of the Twelve, without explaining which two had to give way for them. Pindar and Apollodorus, however, disagree with this.^[7] For them, and Herodorus as well, Heracles is not one of the Twelve Gods, but the one who established their cult.^[3] Plato connected the Twelve Olympians with the twelve months, and proposed that the final month be devoted to rites in honor of Pluto and the spirits of the dead, implying that he considered Hades, one of the basic chthonic deities, to be one of the Twelve.^[8] Hades is phased out in later groupings due to his chthonic associations.^[9] In Phaedrus Plato aligns the Twelve with the Zodiac and would exclude Hestia from their rank.^[10] Hestia is sometimes displaced by Dionysus.^[9] Hebe, Helios and Persephone are other important gods, goddesses, which are sometimes included in a group of twelve. Persephone, daughter of Demeter, was forced to spend 3 months a year in the underworld. During this time, Demeter withheld her graces and caused the barren landscape of winter, until her daughter returned to Mount Olympus.

The Twelve Olympians gained their supremacy in the world of gods after Zeus led his siblings to victory in war with the Titans; Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia were siblings; all the other of the Dodekatheon are usually considered the children of Zeus by various mothers, except for Athena, who in some versions of the myth was born of Zeus alone, and Aphrodite who was formed from the castrated phallus of the primordial sky which Cronos threw into the sea when he freed the Titans. Additionally, some versions of the myth state that Hephaestus was born of Hera alone as Hera's revenge for Zeus' solo birth of Athena.

List of Olympians

Close to the Olympians

• Bia - Personification of violence.
• Cratos - Personification of power.
• Dione - Mother of Aphrodite by Zeus.
• Dionysus - God of wine, parties, and merriment (Became an Olympian when Hestia left).
• Eileithyia - Goddess of childbirth; daughter of Hera and Zeus.
• Eos - Personification of Dawn.
• Eris - Goddess of Discord.
• Eros - God of lust and desire.
• Ganymede - Cupbearer of the gods palace at Olympus.
• Hades - Lord of the Dead; god of the Underworld and earthly (gems and precious metals) wealth.
• Hebe - Goddess of youth, and cupbearer.
• Helios - Titan; Personification of the Sun.
• Heracles - Greatest hero of the Greek myths.
• Horae - Wardens of Olympus.
• Iris - Personification of the Rainbow, also the messenger of Olympus along with Hermes.
• Leto - Titaness; the mother of Apollo and Artemis.
• Morpheus - God of Dreams.
• Muses - Nine ladies of science and arts.
• Nemesis - Greek goddess of retribution and revenge.
• Nike - Goddess of victory.
• Pan - God of the wild, shepherds, nature, and animals.
• Paean - Universal healer.
• Perseus - Zeus' son, one of the greatest heroes in all of Greek mythology.
• Persephone - Goddess of the spring and death, daughter of Demeter.
• Selene - Titaness; Personification of the Moon.
• Zelus - Emulation.

Photo gallery

<gallery> Image:Jupiter Versailles Louvre Ma78.jpg|Zeus Image:Hera Campana Louvre Ma2283.jpg|Hera Image:Neptune fountain02.jpg|Poseidon Image:Demeter Pio-Clementino Inv254.jpg|Demeter Image:Ares villa Hadriana.jpg|Ares Image:Hermes-louvre3.jpg|Hermes Image:Vulcan Coustou Louvre MR1814.jpg|Hephaestus Image:NAMA 262 Aphrodite Epidaure 2.JPG|Aphrodite Image:Athena Giustiniani Musei Capitolini MC278.jpg|Athena Image:Roman Statue of Apollo.jpg|Apollo Image:Diane_de_Versailles_Leochares_2.jpg|Artemis Image:Hestia-meyers.png|Hestia Image:Dionysusdionysus </gallery>

See also

• Ancient Greek religion
• Family tree of the Greek gods
• Greek mythology
• List of Greek mythological characters
• Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes
• Dii Consentes (its equivalent on the pantheon of Ancient Rome)

References

External links

• List of 12 Olympians
• Summary of main gods of Pantheon
• Dodekatheon Information Page

br:Doueed an Olimpos bg:?????????? ?????? ca:Olímpics el:????????? ???????? ??? ????????? ?????????? es:Dioses olímpicos fa:?????? ???? ????????? fr:Divinités olympiennes ko:????? 12? it:Olimpi he:???? ????????? ka:??????? ????????? lb:Olympesch Gëtter lt:Olimpo dievai hu:Tizenkét olümposzi isten nl:Olympische goden ja:????????? no:De tolv olympiske guder nds:Olympsche Gödder pl:Bogowie olimpijscy ru:??????????? ???? simple:Twelve Olympians sk:Olympskí bohovia sl:Dvanajst bogov Olimpa sr:???????? ?????? fi:Olympolaiset jumalat sv:De olympiska gudarna th:?????????????????? vi:M??i hai v? th?n tręn ??nh Olympus tr:Olimposlu tanr?lar uk:??????????? ???? zh:????????